van Gogh the hedgehog
@vangoghthehedgehog.bsky.social
🇳🇱 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 Dutch. Not an expert on the things I write about. Bring your own grains of salt!
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
Toen de asielwetten van Faber besproken werden in de Tweede Kamer was er veel rumoer - terecht - over strafbaarstelling illegaliteit.
Maar wat er in die wetten staat over gezinshereniging, dát is waar t grootste menselijk leed zal gaan zitten. En D66 en CDA willen daar grotendeels aan vasthouden.
Maar wat er in die wetten staat over gezinshereniging, dát is waar t grootste menselijk leed zal gaan zitten. En D66 en CDA willen daar grotendeels aan vasthouden.
Over de invoering van het tweestatusstelsel - de meest radicale hervorming van het Nederlands asielbeleid in 25 jaar - schrijft de Raad van State, in keurige Raad-van-State-taal: jullie zeggen dat het moet van de EU, maar dat is nonsens, jullie willen t gewoon om gezinsherening te kunnen blokkeren.
December 5, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Toen de asielwetten van Faber besproken werden in de Tweede Kamer was er veel rumoer - terecht - over strafbaarstelling illegaliteit.
Maar wat er in die wetten staat over gezinshereniging, dát is waar t grootste menselijk leed zal gaan zitten. En D66 en CDA willen daar grotendeels aan vasthouden.
Maar wat er in die wetten staat over gezinshereniging, dát is waar t grootste menselijk leed zal gaan zitten. En D66 en CDA willen daar grotendeels aan vasthouden.
The GMail AI training thing going around is sort of funny. It looks like a giant game of telephone? Some engineer YTer on X claimed that GMail has now opted everyone in to having their mails be used for AI training based on... his interpretation of some vague text, and now media are running with it?
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 PM
The GMail AI training thing going around is sort of funny. It looks like a giant game of telephone? Some engineer YTer on X claimed that GMail has now opted everyone in to having their mails be used for AI training based on... his interpretation of some vague text, and now media are running with it?
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
Post truth-tijdperk. Er word in de media nauwelijks een probleem gemaakt van de leugen op leugen van Yesilgöz, maar als iemand haar dan een keer een leugenaar noemt, moet hij excuses maken voor het feit dat hij de waarheid zei.
Het heersende narratief is dat de VVD zich niet hoeft te verantwoorden.
Het heersende narratief is dat de VVD zich niet hoeft te verantwoorden.
November 13, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Post truth-tijdperk. Er word in de media nauwelijks een probleem gemaakt van de leugen op leugen van Yesilgöz, maar als iemand haar dan een keer een leugenaar noemt, moet hij excuses maken voor het feit dat hij de waarheid zei.
Het heersende narratief is dat de VVD zich niet hoeft te verantwoorden.
Het heersende narratief is dat de VVD zich niet hoeft te verantwoorden.
As an ignorant non-American, one thing I don't understand about the Epstein files/discharge petition is this: if the files are seriously so damning, why doesn't the American govt disappear them?
November 13, 2025 at 1:15 AM
As an ignorant non-American, one thing I don't understand about the Epstein files/discharge petition is this: if the files are seriously so damning, why doesn't the American govt disappear them?
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
Much of the European populist far right is now focused on using the EU system for its ideological purposes rather than taking it down. It is important to focus on where the risks are now rather than where they were 10 years ago
this is true, but now let me take a big sip of water and see how the far right is doing in Europe lately
If the US system remains trapped in an endless knife fight between a party of good government and a party of nihilistic governance then Europeans need to accept that the US will no longer be a stable partner long after Trump is gone
November 12, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Much of the European populist far right is now focused on using the EU system for its ideological purposes rather than taking it down. It is important to focus on where the risks are now rather than where they were 10 years ago
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.
November 12, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.
A fact-check tool that uses an LLM for its factchecking. Who was ignorant or evil enough to come up with this?
aphyr.com/posts/398-th...
aphyr.com/posts/398-th...
The Future of Fact-Checking is Lies, I Guess
aphyr.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:46 AM
A fact-check tool that uses an LLM for its factchecking. Who was ignorant or evil enough to come up with this?
aphyr.com/posts/398-th...
aphyr.com/posts/398-th...
I may be late but this finally made me realize that the establishment's whole "left-wingers are naive and unrealistic" is not just annoying/condescending, but also a mirror of their theory of the "average" voter, which seems to be "the average voter is naive and therefore we must cater to that"
Shaheen: "When I talk to my constituents in New Hampshire, you know what they say to me? They say, 'Why can't you all just work together to address the problems that are facing this country?'"
November 10, 2025 at 3:46 AM
I may be late but this finally made me realize that the establishment's whole "left-wingers are naive and unrealistic" is not just annoying/condescending, but also a mirror of their theory of the "average" voter, which seems to be "the average voter is naive and therefore we must cater to that"
What are these people talking about. The Maine primary is in June next year!! It's like all these people have just ceased having any sense of time. From the Jacobin article which I won't give any clicks. Glad I unsubscribed a while ago.
October 24, 2025 at 8:50 PM
What are these people talking about. The Maine primary is in June next year!! It's like all these people have just ceased having any sense of time. From the Jacobin article which I won't give any clicks. Glad I unsubscribed a while ago.
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
Queen
September 16, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Queen
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
we were never meant to know just how fucking stupid and incompetently evil these people are. It is the literal fucking mind shredder. It is why the median voter still doesn’t know things are this bad because it is a self censoring fact. It is literally too fucking much to bear without going insane.
October 8, 2025 at 1:19 AM
we were never meant to know just how fucking stupid and incompetently evil these people are. It is the literal fucking mind shredder. It is why the median voter still doesn’t know things are this bad because it is a self censoring fact. It is literally too fucking much to bear without going insane.
definitely one of the reasons I don't post much on sites like this
noticing more "oh so you hate waffles?" style randomly aggro replies these days. winter is coming
September 22, 2025 at 1:45 AM
definitely one of the reasons I don't post much on sites like this
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
Extreemrechtse knokploegen wegzetten als ‘hooligans’ of ‘tuig’, zoals politiek en media doen, betekent de depolitisering van een ideologisch en gevaarlijk fenomeen. Die depolitisering dient één doel: het beschermen van macht, terwijl het gevaar van extreemrechts bewust wordt gebagatelliseerd.
September 20, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Extreemrechtse knokploegen wegzetten als ‘hooligans’ of ‘tuig’, zoals politiek en media doen, betekent de depolitisering van een ideologisch en gevaarlijk fenomeen. Die depolitisering dient één doel: het beschermen van macht, terwijl het gevaar van extreemrechts bewust wordt gebagatelliseerd.
I fear this is true
Everything is information warfare -- everything -- and the right is simply better at it.
September 21, 2025 at 4:40 AM
I fear this is true
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
a reminder that I just love Rowan Williams
and not just because he introduced me to Ruth Burrows
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/n...
and not just because he introduced me to Ruth Burrows
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/n...
We Who Wrestle With God by Jordan Peterson review – a culture warrior out of his depth
The popular psychologist’s blinkered reading of the Bible does his cause no favours
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2024 at 1:55 AM
a reminder that I just love Rowan Williams
and not just because he introduced me to Ruth Burrows
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/n...
and not just because he introduced me to Ruth Burrows
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/n...
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
an overlooked aspect of all these “bluesky is an echo chamber” pieces is that the writers bizarrely think that the only reason people use social media is to talk about politics, which is true only for a subset of users
November 22, 2024 at 3:21 PM
an overlooked aspect of all these “bluesky is an echo chamber” pieces is that the writers bizarrely think that the only reason people use social media is to talk about politics, which is true only for a subset of users
Hot take maybe: I don't at all believe that the true average belief of Americans about "how many % of americans are trans" is 21%. I'd much sooner believe that people rush their answers when answering polls, or go with a sentiment ("I keep seeing [group] on the news!).
This explains why conservative fear-mongering is such an easy play in America.
— Ppl believe trans ppl make up 21% of the population (Real number: 1%)
— Ppl believe Black ppl make up 41% of the nation (real number 12%)
— Ppl believe Jewish ppl make up 30% of the nation (Real number, 2%)
— Ppl believe trans ppl make up 21% of the population (Real number: 1%)
— Ppl believe Black ppl make up 41% of the nation (real number 12%)
— Ppl believe Jewish ppl make up 30% of the nation (Real number, 2%)
November 22, 2024 at 4:35 AM
Hot take maybe: I don't at all believe that the true average belief of Americans about "how many % of americans are trans" is 21%. I'd much sooner believe that people rush their answers when answering polls, or go with a sentiment ("I keep seeing [group] on the news!).
Since everybody's talking about echo chambers...
The responses to a post that @chrisklomp.bsky.social made on X keep going through my mind. He posted that he liked how he didn't get shitty responses on Bsky as opposed to X and predictably, numerous trolls complained about elitism and echo chambers
The responses to a post that @chrisklomp.bsky.social made on X keep going through my mind. He posted that he liked how he didn't get shitty responses on Bsky as opposed to X and predictably, numerous trolls complained about elitism and echo chambers
November 19, 2024 at 10:04 PM
Since everybody's talking about echo chambers...
The responses to a post that @chrisklomp.bsky.social made on X keep going through my mind. He posted that he liked how he didn't get shitty responses on Bsky as opposed to X and predictably, numerous trolls complained about elitism and echo chambers
The responses to a post that @chrisklomp.bsky.social made on X keep going through my mind. He posted that he liked how he didn't get shitty responses on Bsky as opposed to X and predictably, numerous trolls complained about elitism and echo chambers
This article has been going the rounds, coupled with a lot of "Leopards eating faces" style comments:
www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...
But the lede and headline of this article just seem misleading?
www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...
But the lede and headline of this article just seem misleading?
Muslims who voted for Trump upset by his pro-Israel cabinet picks
U.S. Muslim leaders who supported Republican Donald Trump to protest against the Biden administration's support for Israel's war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon have been deeply disappointed by his Cabinet picks, they tell Reuters.
www.reuters.com
November 18, 2024 at 3:25 PM
This article has been going the rounds, coupled with a lot of "Leopards eating faces" style comments:
www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...
But the lede and headline of this article just seem misleading?
www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...
But the lede and headline of this article just seem misleading?
Reposted by van Gogh the hedgehog
one for the block lists
November 15, 2024 at 1:33 PM
one for the block lists
This seems like it has truth to it but I do think political power and cultural power aren't entirely seperable? I assume that it will help some (but not all) capitalists to move in the political direction of the Trump campaign
I’ve said it before, will doubtless say it again: These folks are going to be permanently resentful because they’re seeking political power as a substitute for cultural power, and it’s never going to give them what they actually want.
I love how far afield this is from any problem government can address. “Now that Trump won people have to like and agree with me and not tell me I suck anymore.” bsky.app/profile/yash...
November 15, 2024 at 11:06 AM
This seems like it has truth to it but I do think political power and cultural power aren't entirely seperable? I assume that it will help some (but not all) capitalists to move in the political direction of the Trump campaign
So, I never bothered to listen to Sam Harris's appearance on Decoding the Gurus, so I had missed this. Apparently, Sam Harris cannot stop lying about the anthropologist Scott Atran. It's wild. Transcript below (retrieved from app.podscribe.ai/episode/9669...):
October 28, 2024 at 6:50 AM
So, I never bothered to listen to Sam Harris's appearance on Decoding the Gurus, so I had missed this. Apparently, Sam Harris cannot stop lying about the anthropologist Scott Atran. It's wild. Transcript below (retrieved from app.podscribe.ai/episode/9669...):
What an odd and bad article by Jacobin. When reading the copy in my inbox I had already taken a guess as to who the author was and YUP!
jacobin.com/2024/08/demo...
jacobin.com/2024/08/demo...
The Democrats’ “Weird” Glass House
Yes, Republicans are “weird,” but the in-vogue Democratic talking point gets us further away from an economic argument about why Donald Trump is bad for working-class families.
jacobin.com
August 7, 2024 at 8:37 AM
What an odd and bad article by Jacobin. When reading the copy in my inbox I had already taken a guess as to who the author was and YUP!
jacobin.com/2024/08/demo...
jacobin.com/2024/08/demo...
In reading about the history of attachment theory, I notice that I find it easy to see John Bowlby as a Great Man (in the vein of Great Man theory?). His theories revolutionized western psychology and our understanding of the bonds between us. (I have not gotten to Mary Ainsworth yet)
August 4, 2024 at 8:31 PM
In reading about the history of attachment theory, I notice that I find it easy to see John Bowlby as a Great Man (in the vein of Great Man theory?). His theories revolutionized western psychology and our understanding of the bonds between us. (I have not gotten to Mary Ainsworth yet)
I've been (re-)Reading Maslow's famous "A Theory of Human Motivation". The paper that birthed his famous "Hierarchy of needs". It's interesting. It seems like academic psychology has mostly moved on from it, but the hierarchy (or his "pyramid" as it's ahistorically put) still seems to be everywhere
July 19, 2024 at 3:27 AM
I've been (re-)Reading Maslow's famous "A Theory of Human Motivation". The paper that birthed his famous "Hierarchy of needs". It's interesting. It seems like academic psychology has mostly moved on from it, but the hierarchy (or his "pyramid" as it's ahistorically put) still seems to be everywhere